Love Bites
Marked by the Midfielder
The morning sun filtered through the blinds of the Säbener Strasse locker room, but for Aleksandar Pavlović, the atmosphere felt unusually heavy. He was used to the banter, the flying towels, and the loud music, but today, there was a different kind of energy in the air. Joshua Kimmich was leaning against a locker, his arms crossed, watching Aleks with a knowing, lopsided grin.
"You're distracted, Aleks," Kimmich remarked, his voice loud enough to catch the attention of Thomas Müller and Leon Goretzka. "Third time you’ve put your left boot on the wrong foot. Either you’re rethinking your tactical positioning, or there’s a girl."
Aleks froze, one sock halfway up his calf. He tried to maintain his composure, but he could feel the heat rising to his cheeks. "I'm just tired, Jo. Late game on TV last night."
"A late game? Or a late night?" Müller chimed in, popping up behind them like a caffeinated jack-in-the-box. "Come on, little brother. We’ve seen the way you’re checking your phone every five minutes. You’ve got that look. The 'I’m-in-love-and-trying-to-hide-it' look. It’s very transparent."
Aleksandar sighed, realizing he couldn't keep the secret much longer. The "vampire" incident with Nini a few nights ago had shifted something in him. He realized that while he wanted to protect her, he also hated the feeling of sneaking around. He wanted to hold her hand in the light.
"Fine," Aleks muttered, standing up and smoothing out his training shirt. "I’m seeing someone. Her name is Nini."
The locker room erupted. Goretzka let out a low whistle, and Müller started clapping.
"I knew it!" Kimmich laughed, slapping Aleks on the back. "So, when do we meet the mystery woman who has our rising star acting like a smitten teenager?"
"Actually," Aleks said, taking a deep breath, "I was thinking of bringing her to the team dinner tonight. If that’s okay. I want her to meet you guys before... before the rest of the world finds out."
The dinner was held at a quiet, upscale Italian restaurant that the team frequently used for its privacy. Nini was terrified. She stood outside the entrance, her small hand swallowed by Aleks’s large, calloused palm. She was wearing a simple, elegant cream-colored dress, her long curly brown hair pinned back on one side, revealing the pale, unmarked skin of her neck—for now.
"They’re going to hate me," she whispered, her eyes wide. "I don't know anything about high-level tactics or xG stats, Aleks."
Aleks laughed softly, leaning down to press a firm kiss to her temple. "Nini, they’re just guys who play football. And they’re going to love you because I love you. Just be yourself. If Müller starts talking too much, just nod and smile."
The introduction went better than she could have imagined. While she was shy at first, the team’s warmth quickly melted her nerves. Thomas Müller spent ten minutes showing her pictures of his horses, while Harry Kane politely asked her about her favorite spots in Munich. Even the notoriously intense Kimmich was charming, telling her stories about Aleks’s first few days training with the senior squad.
By the end of the night, Nini was laughing, a glass of sparkling water in her hand, feeling like she finally belonged in his world. Aleks watched her from across the table, his chest swelling with pride. He loved the way she looked under the warm restaurant lights, her curls bouncing as she tilted her head back to laugh at something Jamal Musiala said.
However, the peace was short-lived.
The next morning, the headlines broke. Aleks had given his PR team the green light to confirm he was in a relationship, hoping to get ahead of the rumors. The official statements were vague: *Aleksandar Pavlović confirms relationship with girlfriend, Nini. The couple requests privacy as she is not a public figure.*
But the internet was a hungry beast. By midday, a grainy but unmistakable photo had surfaced on a popular gossip blog. It had been taken two nights prior, as they were leaving a late-night screening at the cinema. Nini was practically swimming in Aleks’s oversized grey Bayern Munich hoodie, her small hand tucked firmly into his. They looked incredibly sweet, like two college students on a normal date.
Except for one detail.
The camera had caught them under a bright streetlamp just as Nini turned her head. There, stark against the porcelain skin of her neck, was a deep, blossoming purple mark. A hickey so obvious it could be seen from space.
The comments section was a disaster zone.
*“Is Pavlović okay? Did he try to eat her?”* *“Damn, Aleks is playing aggressive on and off the pitch lol.”* *“Is he a vampire? Look at that mark!”*
Nini was scrolling through the comments on her phone while lounging on the sofa later that evening. Aleks was sitting at the kitchen island, nursing a protein shake and looking through his own feed with a deepening scowl.
"Hey, Aleks?" Nini called out, a mischievous glint in her eyes. "You might want to see this. It seems I wasn't the only one who had suspicions about your supernatural status."
She held up the phone, showing him a meme someone had made of his face photoshopped onto a Twilight poster. The caption read: *The Midfielder’s Twilight: He doesn’t sparkle, he just bites.*
Aleks groaned, burying his face in his hands. "I’m going to kill the paparazzi. And then I’m going to kill Müller, because I know he’s the one who started the group chat titled 'Team Edward'."
Nini giggled, getting up and walking over to him. She slid between his knees, resting her hands on his shoulders. "See? I told you. You’re too intense. Now the whole of Germany thinks you’re a creature of the night."
Aleks looked up, his dark eyes narrowing as they landed on the very mark that had caused the stir. It was still there, a vivid reminder of his hunger for her. He reached out, his thumb tracing the bruised skin.
"I don't care what they think," he muttered, his voice dropping an octave. "But I do care about what happened this morning."
Nini tilted her head. "What do you mean?"
"Jonas Urbig," Aleks said, referring to the young goalkeeper. "He’s usually the most professional, polite guy in the building. But this morning, he comes up to me in the gym, shows me that picture, and says, 'You’ve got a really pretty girl, Aleks. You’re a lucky man.' And he said it with this... this look."
Nini blinked, surprised. "He was just being nice, wasn't he?"
"He was looking at you," Aleks countered, his grip on her waist tightening. "The whole world is looking at you now. I saw the comments, Nini. Random men calling you 'cute' and 'gorgeous.' It makes my blood boil."
Nini felt a thrill run down her spine. She had always known Aleks was passionate, but this raw, possessive edge was new. It was intoxicating. "Are you jealous, Aleksandar Pavlović?"
"I'm possessive," he corrected, standing up and lifting her effortlessly so she had to wrap her legs around his waist to stay upright. He carried her toward the bedroom, his movements purposeful and predatory. "There’s a difference."
He kicked the door shut and tossed her onto the bed. Before she could even catch her breath, he was hovering over her, his large frame casting a shadow that blocked out the rest of the world. He looked down at her, his eyes scanning her face, her hair, and finally settling on her lips.
"You're mine," he whispered, his voice thick with a hunger that had nothing to do with football or fame. "I don't want to share you with the cameras. I don't want to share you with the fans. I definitely don't want to share you with my teammates."
Nini reached up, her fingers tracing the sharp line of his jaw. "You don't have to share me. I'm right here."
She decided to tease him one last time. "But if you keep biting me like that, people are really going to start bringing wooden stakes to your games."
Aleks let out a low, dark chuckle that vibrated against her chest. "Let them bring whatever they want. As long as I have you behind closed doors, I’ll be whatever you want me to be."
He leaned down, his mouth hovering just millimeters from the mark on her neck. "You said you thought I was a vampire? Maybe I should lean into the role tonight."
"Aleks—" she started, but the word was cut off as he captured her lips in a kiss that was anything but gentle.
It was a kiss born of frustration, of love, and of a deep-seated need to reclaim what was his. He moved his hand beneath her blouse, his warm palm sliding over the soft skin of her waist, kneading the flesh there. Nini gasped into his mouth, her fingers clutching at the fabric of his shirt, pulling him closer until there was no space left between them.
He broke the kiss to trail his mouth down to her throat, his tongue flicking against the purple bruise he had created. He didn't just kiss it; he nipped at it, his teeth grazing the sensitive area until Nini was arching her back, her breath coming in short, ragged hitches.
"Aleks, please," she whimpered, her head falling back against the pillows.
"Please what?" he murmured against her skin, his breath hot. "Please stop? Or please remind you who you belong to?"
"The second one," she breathed.
He groaned, a sound of pure, unadulterated want. He was hungrier tonight, fueled by the irritation of the day and the sight of her beauty being shared with the public. He wanted to leave marks that no hoodie could hide, to brand her so thoroughly that no one—not the fans, not the paparazzi, and certainly not Jonas Urbig—would ever doubt who she belonged to.
He shifted, his weight settling between her thighs, his hands pinning her wrists above her head. He looked down at her, his expression intense, his pupils dilated. In the dim light of the bedroom, with his sharp features and his overwhelming presence, he really did look like something out of a legend.
"I'm not a vampire, Nini," he whispered, his voice a promise. "But I'm going to make sure you can't walk straight tomorrow."
Nini smiled, her heart racing with a mix of love and desire. She pulled one of her hands free and tangled it in his hair, pulling his head back down to hers.
"Prove it," she challenged.
And Aleksandar Pavlović, the star midfielder who usually followed a strict routine and a disciplined life, spent the rest of the night breaking every rule he had ever set for himself, proving to Nini—and to himself—that some hungers could never be satisfied by anything other than the woman he loved.
Outside, the world was talking about them, speculating and gossiping, but inside the quiet sanctuary of their room, the only sound was the rhythmic beat of two hearts and the soft, satisfied sighs of a girl who had finally realized that being "bitten" by her boyfriend was the best thing that had ever happened to her.